by Morgan Rice
The land appeared in a most unusual shape: two long, narrow peninsulas stuck out into the sea, like two ends of a pitchfork, and as the mist lifted, Thor looked to his left and right and was amazed to see two strips of land on either side of them, each about fifty yards off. They were being sucked right down the middle of a long inlet.
Thor whistled, and his Legion brothers arose. They scrambled to their feet and hurried over beside him, standing at the bow, looking out.
They all stood there, breathless at the site: the shores were the most exotic he had ever seen, densely packed with jungle, soaring trees clinging to the shoreline, so thick that it was impossible to see beyond them. Thor spotted huge ferns, thirty feet tall, leaning over the water; he looked up and saw yellow and purple trees that seemed to reach into the sky; and everywhere, there were the foreign and persistent noises of beasts, birds, insects and he did not know what else, snarling and crying and singing.
Thor swallowed hard. He felt as if they were entering an impenetrable animal kingdom. Everything felt different here; the air smelled different, foreign. Nothing here remotely reminded him of the Ring. The other Legion members all turned and looked at each other, and Thor could see the hesitation in their eyes. They all wondered what creatures lay in wait for them inside that jungle.
It was not as if they had a choice. The current brought them one way, and clearly this was where they needed to disembark to enter the Empire’s lands.
"Over here!" O'Connor yelled.
They rushed to O’Connor’s side of the railing, as he leaned over and pointed down at the water. There, swimming alongside the ship, was a huge insect, a luminescent purple, ten feet long, with hundreds of legs. It glowed beneath the waves, then scurried along the water’s surface; as it did, its thousands of small wings started buzzing, and it lifted just above the water. Then it went back to gliding along the surface, then it plunged below. Then it repeated the process all over again.
As they watched, it suddenly rose up, higher in the air, to eye level with the boys, hovering, staring at them with its four large green eyes. It hissed, and they all jumped back involuntarily, reaching for their swords.
Elden stepped forward and swung at it. But by the time his sword reached the air, it was already back in the water.
Thor and the others went flying, crashing on the deck, as their boat came to a sudden stop, lodging itself on shore with a jolt.
Thor's heart beat faster as he looked over the edge: beneath them was a narrow beach made up of thousands of small jagged rocks, bright purple in color.
Land. They had made it.
Elden lead the way to the anchor, and they all hoisted it and dropped it over the edge. They each climbed down the chain, jumping off it and landing on shore, Thor handing Krohn to Elden as he went.
Thor sighed as his feet touched the ground. It felt so good to have land—dry, steady land—beneath his feet. He would be fine if he never set sail on a ship again.
They all grabbed the ropes and dragged the boat as far onto shore as they could.
"Do you think the tides will take it away?" Reece asked, looking up at the boat.
Thor looked at it; it seemed secure in the sand.
“Not with that anchor,” Elden said.
"The tide won’t take it," O’Connor said. "The question is whether someone else will.”
Thor took one long last look at the ship, and realized his friend was right. Even if they found the sword, they might very well return to an empty shore.
"And then how will we get back?" Conval asked.
Thor could not help but feel as if, every step of the way, they were burning their bridges.
"We shall find a way," Thor said. “After all, there must be other ships in the Empire, right?"
Thor tried to sound authoritative, to reassure his friends. But deep down, he was not so sure himself. This entire journey was feeling increasingly ominous to him.
As one, they turned and faced the jungle, staring at it. It was a wall of foliage, blackness behind it. The animal noises rose up in a cacophony all around them, so loud that Thor could hardly hear himself think. It felt as if every beast of the Empire was screaming out to greet them.
Or to warn them.
*
Thor and the others hiked side-by-side, warily, each of them on guard, through the thick, tropical jungle. It was hard for Thor to hear himself think, so persistent were the screams and cries of the orchestra of insects and animals around him. Yet when he looked into the blackness of the foliage, he could not spot them.
Krohn walked at his heels, snarling, the hair standing on his back. Thor had never seen him so alert. He looked over at his brothers-in-arms, and saw each, like he, with a hand resting on the hilt of his sword, all of them on-edge, too.
They had been hiking for hours now, deeper and deeper into the jungle, the air becoming hotter and thicker, more humid, heavier to breathe. They had followed the traces of what appeared to once be a trail, a few broken branches hinting at the path the group of men who had arrived here may have taken. Thor only hoped that it was the trail of the group who had stolen the sword.
Thor looked up, in awe of the nature: everything was overgrown to epic proportion, every leaf as big as Thor. He felt like an insect in a land of giants. He saw something rustling behind some of the leaves, but couldn’t actually see anything. He had the ominous feeling that they were being watched.
The trail before them suddenly ended in a solid wall of foliage. They all stopped and looked at each other, puzzled.
"But the trail can't just disappear!" O'Connor said, hopeless.
"It didn't," Reece said, examining the leaves. "The jungle just grew back on itself.”
"So which way now?" Conval asked.
Thor turned and looked all around, wondering the same thing. In every direction was just more of the dense foliage, and there seemed to be no way out. Thor was beginning to have a sinking feeling, and felt increasingly lost.
Then he had an idea.
“Krohn," he said, kneeling down and whispering in Krohn's ear. "Climb that tree. Look for us. Tell us which way to go.”
Krohn looked up at him with his soulful eyes, and Thor felt he understood.
Krohn sprinted for an enormous tree, the trunk as wide as ten men, and without hesitating pounced on it and clawed his way up. Krohn sprinted straight up then leapt out onto one of the highest branches. He walked out to its tip and looked out, his ears standing straight. Thor had always sensed that Krohn understood him, and now he knew for certain that he did.
Krohn leaned back and made a strange purring noise in the back of his throat, then scurried back down the trunk and took off in one direction. The boys exchanged a curious look, then all turned and followed Krohn, heading off into that part of the jungle, pushing back the thick leaves so they could walk.
After a few minutes of following him, Thor was relieved to see the trail pick up again, the telltale signs of broken branches and foliage showing which way the group had went. Thor leaned down and patted Krohn, kissing him on the head.
"I don’t know what we would have done without him," Reece said.
“Nor do I," Thor responded.
Krohn purred, satisfied, proud.
As they continued deeper into the jungle, twisting and turning, they came to a stretch of new foliage, with flowers all around them, enormous, the size of Thor, bursting with every color. Other trees had fruits the size of boulders hanging from the branches.
They all stopped in wonder as Conval walked over to one of the fruits, glowing red, and reached up to touch it.
Suddenly, there came a deep, growling noise.
Conval backed away and grabbed his sword, and the others all looked at each other anxiously.
"What was that?" Conval asked.
"It came from over there,” Reece said, gesturing to another part of the jungle.
They all turned and looked. But Thor could see nothing but leaves. Krohn snarled back at it.
What stepped forward from the jungle exceeded even Thor's worst expectations. Standing there before them was an enormous insect, five times Thor’s size, resembling a praying mantis, with two rear legs, two smaller front legs that dangled in the air, and long claws at the end of them. Its body was a fluorescent green, covered in scales, and it had small wings which buzzed and vibrated. It had two eyes at the top of its head, and a third eye on the tip of its nose. It reached around and revealed more claws which Thor hadn't seen, hidden under its throat, which vibrated and snapped.
It stood there, towering over them, and another claw came out from its stomach, a long skinny arm, protruding; suddenly, faster than any of them could react, it reached out and snatched O'Connor, its three claws expanding and wrapping around his waist. It lifted him high in the air, as if he were a leaf.
O'Connor swung his sword, but he was nowhere near quick enough. The beast shook him several times, then suddenly opened its mouth, revealing row after row of sharp teeth, turned O'Connor sideways, and began to lower him towards it.
O'Connor shrieked, as an instant and painful death loomed.
Thor reacted. Without thinking, he placed a stone in his sling, took aim and hurled it at the beast’s third eye, at the tip of its nose.
It was a direct strike. The beast shrieked, an awful noise, loud enough to split a tree, then dropped O'Connor, who fell end over end and landed on the soft jungle floor with a thump.
The beast, enraged, then turned its sights on Thor.
Thor knew that making a stand and fighting this creature would be futile. At least one of his brothers would get killed, and likely Krohn, too, and it would drain whatever precious energy they had. He felt that maybe they had intruded on its territory, and that if they could get out of there quick enough, it might just leave them be.
"RUN!" Thor screamed.
They turned and ran—and the beast began to chase after them.
Thor could hear the sound of the beast’s nails cutting through the dense foliage right behind them, slicing through the air and missing his head by a few feet. Shredded leaves flew up into the air and rained down around him. They all ran as one, and Thor felt that if they could just gain enough distance, they could find a way to take shelter. If not, then they would have to make a stand.
But Reece suddenly slipped beside him, falling over a branch, face-first into the foliage, and Thor knew he wouldn’t get up in time. Thor stopped beside them, drew his sword, and stood between him and the beast.
“KEEP RUNNING!" Thor yelled over his shoulder to the others, as he stood there, ready to defend Reece.
The beast lunged for him, shrieking, and swung its claw for Thor's face. Thor ducked and swung his sword at the same time, and the beast let out a horrific shriek as Thor chopped off one of its claws. A green fluid sprayed all over Thor, and he looked up and watched in horror as the beast re-grew its claw just as quickly as it had lost it. It was as if Thor had never injured it.
Thor swallowed. This would be an impossible beast to kill. And now he had angered it.
The beast swiped down with yet another arm, coming out from somewhere else on its body, and swiped Thor hard in the ribs, sending him flying and landing in a clump of trees. The beast then lowered another claw for Thor, and Thor knew he was in trouble.
Elden, O'Connor and the twins rushed forward, and as the beast came down with another claw for Thor, O'Connor fired an arrow into its mouth, lodging in the back of its throat, making it shriek. Elden took his two-handed ax and brought it down on the beast’s back, while Conven and Conval each threw a spear, lodging on each side of its throat. Reece regained his feet and plunged his sword into the beast’s belly. Thor regained his feet and swung his sword at another of the beast’s arms, chopping it off. And Krohn joined them, leaping into the air and sinking his fangs into its throat.
The beast let out shriek after shriek, as they all did more damage than Thor thought possible. It was incredible to Thor that it was still standing, its wings still vibrating. This beast just would not die.
They all watched in horror as, one at a time, the beast reached over and pulled out the spears and swords and the axe lodged in it—and as it did, its injuries all healed before their eyes.
This beast was undefeatable.
The beast leaned back and roared, and all of Thor’s Legion brothers looked up in shock. They had all given it everything they had, and it wouldn’t even dent it.
The beast prepared to lunge at them again, with its razor sharp jaws and claws, and Thor realized there was nothing else they could do. They were all going to die.
“OUT OF THE WAY!" came a sudden scream.
The voice came from behind Thor, and it sounded like the voice of a boy. Thor turned to see a small boy, perhaps eleven, run up behind them, carrying what appeared to be a jug of water. Thor ducked and the boy threw up the water, splashing it all over the beast's face.
The beast leaned back and screeched, steam rising from its face, reaching up with its claws and tearing at its cheek, its eyes, its head. It shrieked again and again, the noise so loud that Thor had to hold his hands over his ears.
Finally, the beast turned and darted away, back into the jungle, getting lost in the foliage.
They all turned and looked at the boy with a new sense of wonder and appreciation. Dressed in rags, with longish brown hair and bright-green, intelligent eyes, the boy was covered in dirt, and he looked, from his bare feet and dirty hands, as if he lived out here.
Thor had never been more grateful to anyone.
"Weapons won’t hurt a Gathorbeast," the boy said, rolling his eyes. "Lucky for you I heard the shrieks and was close. If not, you’d be dead by now. Don’t you know that you never confront a Gathorbeast?”
Thor looked at his friends, all at a loss for words.
“We didn’t confront it,” Elden said. “It confronted us.”
“They don’t confront you,” the boy said, “unless you intrude on its territory.”
"What were we supposed to do?" Reece asked.
"Well, never look it in the eye for one," the boy said. "And if it attacks, lie face down until it leaves you be. And most of all, don’t ever try to run.”
Thor stepped forward and laid a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"You saved our lives," he said. “We owe you a great debt.”
The boy shrugged.
"You don't look like Empire troops,” he said. “You look like you came from somewhere else in the world. So why wouldn’t I help you? You seem to have the markings of that group that came from the ship some days ago."
Thor and the others exchanged a knowing glance, and turned to the boy.
"Do you know where this group went?" Thor asked.
The boy shrugged.
"It was a large group, and they were carrying a weapon. It seemed heavy: it took all of them to carry it. I tracked them for days. They were easy to track. They were slow-moving. They were also sloppy, and careless. I know where they went, though I didn't track them much beyond the village. I can bring you there and point you in the right direction, if you like. But not today.”
The others exchanged a puzzled look.
"Why not?" Thor asked.
"Night falls in but a few hours. You can’t be outside after dark.”
"But why?” Reece asked.
The boy looked at him as if he were crazy.
“The Ethabugs,” he said.
Thor stepped forward and looked at the boy. He liked this boy immediately. He was intelligent, earnest, fearless, and had a lot of heart.
"Do you know a place where we can take shelter for the night?”
The boy looked back at Thor, then shrugged, looking uncertain. He stood there, wavering.
"I don’t think I should," he said. "Grandpa will get mad.”
&n
bsp; Krohn suddenly emerged from behind Thor, and walked towards the boy—and the boy's eyes lit up in delight.
"Wow!" the boy exclaimed.
Krohn licked the boy’s face, again and again, and the boy giggled in delight and reached up and stroked Krohn’s head. Then the boy knelt down, lowered his spear, and hugged Krohn. Krohn seemed to hugged him back, and the boy laughed hysterically.
“What’s his name?” the boy asked. “What is he?”
“His name is Krohn,” Thor said, smiling. “He is a rare white leopard. He comes from the other side of the ocean. From the Ring. Where we are from. He likes you.”
The boy kissed Krohn several times, and finally stood and looked back at Thor.
"Well,” the boy said, wavering, “I guess I can bring you to our village. Hopefully grandpa won't get too mad. If he does, you're out of luck. Follow me. We have to hurry. It will be night soon.”
The boy turned and quickly weaved his way through the jungle, and Thor and the others followed. Thor was amazed at the boy’s dexterity, at how well he knew the jungle. It was hard to keep up.
"People come through here from time to time,” the boy said. “The ocean, the tides, it leads them right into the harbor. Some people come from the sea and cut through here, on their way somewhere else. Most of them don't make it. They get eaten by something or other in the jungle. You guys were lucky. There a lot worse things here than that Gatherbeast.”
Thor swallowed.
"Worse than that? Like what?”
The boy shook his head, continuing to hike.
"You don’t want to know. I've seen some pretty awful things here.”
“How long have you been here?” Thor asked, curious.
"My whole life," the boy said. "My grandpa moved us when I was little.”
“But why here, in this place? Surely there must be more hospitable places.”
“You don’t know the Empire, do you?” the boy asked. “The troops are everywhere. It’s not so easy to stay out of their site. If they ever catch us, they capture us as slaves. They rarely come out here—not this deep in the jungle.”
